Antipsychotic drugs are known to alleviate the symptoms of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia. Examples of such drugs include phenothiazine derivatives such as promazine, chlorpromazine, fluphenazine, thioridazine and promethazine, thioxanthenes such as chlorprothixene, butyrophenones such as haloperidol, and clozapine. While these agents may be effective in treating schizophrenia, virtually all except clozapine produce extrapyramidal side effects, such as facial tics. Since antipsychotics may be administered for years or decades to a patient, such pronounced side effects may complicate recovery and further isolate the individual from society.
Compound having some structural similarity to those of the present invention are described in application Ser. No. 757,881 assigned to the same company as the present application and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,950,393 and 4,696,920, as well as R. Coombs, W. J. Houlihan, J. Nadelson and E. I. Taskesue J. Med. Chem., 1971, 14, 1072.
The present invention is directed to novel compounds and methods of use, which compounds have demonstrated antipsychotic activity.